Extreme Prejudice (1987)

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers:

John Milius (story) and
Fred Rexer (story) ...

Release Date:

24 April 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Western

Tagline:

An army of forgotten heroes, all officially dead. They live for combat. Now they've met the wrong man.

Plot:

A Texas Ranger and a ruthless narcotics kingpin - they were childhood friends, now they are adversaries...

Plot Keywords:

Drug | Texas | Kingpin | Texas Ranger | Drug Lord

Cast

Nick Nolte	...	Jack Benteen
Powers Boothe	...	Cash Bailey
Michael Ironside	...	Maj. Paul Hackett
Maria Conchita Alonso	...	Sarita Cisneros
Rip Torn	...	Sheriff Hank Pearson
Clancy Brown	...	MSgt. Larry McRose
William Forsythe	...	Sgt. Buck Atwater
Matt Mulhern	...	SSgt. Declan Patrick Coker
Larry B. Scott	...	Sgt. Charles Biddle
Dan Tullis Jr.	...	Sgt. Luther Fry
John Dennis Johnston	...	Merv
Luis Contreras	...	Lupo
Gary Cervantes	...	Hector (as Carlos Cervantes)
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	Monday
Marco Rodríguez	...	Deputy Cortez

Runtime:

96 min | USA:104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

El Paso, Texas, USA

Company:

Carolco Entertainment

Trivia:

In the scene in which Powers Boothe picks up the scorpion and then crushes it with his bare hand was done in one take.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the car chase scene which follows the failed bank robbery, there is a brief glimpse of a "flipped" shot, in which it appears as though Sgt. Coker is driving the getaway car from the right hand side, while the left front seat (the driver's seat in left-hand drive cars, naturally) is empty.

Quotes:

Sheriff Hank Pearson: Hell, Jack... the only thing worse than a politician is a child molester.

Movie Connections:

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

Soundtrack:

RELAMPAGO

a great amalgamation of western macho and political thriller

The premise of the movie is hardly new: super secret military force intended to protect America goes awry. Yet that hardly explains the whole picture. In quite a few ways this is really a western set in modern times. Instead of the wild wild west, we have the no man's land between the U.S. and Mexico where drug runners have carved out a private empire for themselves. The sullen masculinity of Nick Nolte's small town sheriff is nicely offset by the malevolently gregarious Powers Booth, his erstwhile friend. Throw in Clancy Brown and company as an elite undercover military force caught up in political machinations and you have an interesting study of masculinity, loyalty and patriotism in a complex world.

Walter Hill has always struck me as one highly influenced by Sam Peckinpah, and the parallels with "The Wild Bunch" are too clear and keen to be anything but intentional. The bloody finale is a virtual remake of the shoot out at the end of bloody Sam's classic. This is not top form thinking guy movie, but it's still a real film that doesn't resort to cartoon action figures to entertain.